It began with the delivery of a package, and ended with an international manhunt that resulted in the arrest of a Canadian porn star in a Berlin internet cafe. Sandwiched between the two events are the grisly details of one of the most disturbing murders in recent history.

On May 28, news broke that a package containing a human foot had been delivered to the headquarters of Canada’s Conservative Party in Ottawa. A short while later came the news that another package was found, this time at an Ottawa postal station and addressed to the Liberal Party office. Inside it was a dismembered hand. That same day, police had discovered a human torso stuffed in a suitcase near some garbage bins outside a Montreal apartment. And inside that apartment building lived a 29-year-old porn actor named Luka Rocco Magnotta. Police soon identified the actor as the suspect, believing he had killed and dismembered Jun Lin, a 33-year-old Chinese citizen and student at Montreal’s Concordia University, who was known to date Magnotta.

Though the discovery of the body parts already made for grim headlines, the unearthing of a “snuff film” — a video of the murder taking place — on a Canadian website added another layer of horror. Called “1 Lunatic 1 Ice-Pick”, the 11-minute video depicts the murder, sexual assault and dismemberment of Lin. Canadian police say they believe the video is authentic.

Magnotta, who has also been known by the names Eric Clinton Newman and Vladimir Romanov, had a disturbing online presence and promptly became a suspect. News stories revealed that he had once been thought to have once dated a notorious Canadian serial killer, had blogged about necrophilia and posted a video online showing him suffocating kittens.

Yet before police had even discovered the body parts or the video, Magnotta had apparently boarded a plane for France. Interpol placed him on their equivalent of the “most wanted” list, as authorities tracked him throughout Paris where thousands reported spotting him. Soon, however, authorities suspected he had made his way for Berlin. On Monday, according to the Associated Press, that suspicion appeared to be proved correct, as a German police spokeswoman stated that Magnotta had been apprehended in a Berlin internet cafe after an employee recognized him and alerted police.

The actor will presumably be sent back to Canada, where he is wanted for first-degree murder and other charges. Amongst Magnotta’s various blogs, he’d written a post titled, “How to Completely Disappear and Never Be Found.” In it, he detailed his strategies to escape his identity, noting that “[a] minimum of four months is really necessary to carry out the heroic actions necessary to leave your old life behind.” Fortunately, Magnotta was discovered in less than two weeks.

Megan Gibson is a Writer-Reporter at the London bureau of TIME. Find her on Twitter at @MeganJGibson. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.